To be effective, a fish lure must draw the attention of the fish. The response of the fish to such stimulation is instinctive, causing the fish to strike at the lure and the accompanying hook. Effective stimulation can take the form of movement, light, or sound, the former two being the most prevalent. An example of movement stimulation is found in a wiggling live worm, or a metal panel of a lure oscillating as the lure is pulled through the water. The most common light stimulation is the reflection of sunlight through the water upon a shiny lure. The prior art is replete with a great number of fishing lures, incorporating both movement and light stimuli alone or in combination. They range from simple to complex, unpowered and powered.
Many attempts have been made to develop effective lighted lures. These have utilized, for the most part, incandescent bulbs as light emitters. However, they gave rise to a number of problems. First of all, incandescent lamps require high current, and it is difficult to supply high current to a lure submerged in water. High current necessitates a powerful power supply, and relatively heavy associated components. The relatively large size of the components renders the lure unattractive to the fish. Furthermore, incandescent lamps are easily broken and cannot take the shock and abuse to which fishing tackle is usually subjected. The components of an incandescent lamp system are not easily adapted to fit conventional fishing equipment, and the system thus becomes expensive. If intermittent light is desired, the system must be even more complex and costly.